U.S. patent application number 16/596963 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-09 for transparent display device and container.
The applicant listed for this patent is Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd. BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Nanfang JIA, Guangkui QIN, Long WANG.
Application Number | 20200110314 16/596963 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 64472917 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-09 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200110314 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
JIA; Nanfang ; et
al. |
April 9, 2020 |
TRANSPARENT DISPLAY DEVICE AND CONTAINER
Abstract
The present disclosure provides a transparent display device,
including a transparent display panel and at least one full color
light source. The transparent display panel includes a first
substrate and a second substrate provided opposite to each other,
and a polymer liquid crystal mixed layer located therebetween. The
light source is located at a side of the first substrate distal to
the second substrate, and an orthographic projection of the light
source on a plane where the first substrate is located is outside
the first substrate. The light source is configured to emit light
of at least two colors toward the transparent display panel in a
time division manner.
Inventors: |
JIA; Nanfang; (Beijing,
CN) ; WANG; Long; (Beijing, CN) ; QIN;
Guangkui; (Beijing, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd.
BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. |
Beijing
Beijing |
|
CN
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
64472917 |
Appl. No.: |
16/596963 |
Filed: |
October 9, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02F 1/133615 20130101;
G02F 1/133611 20130101; G02F 1/133621 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G02F 1/1335 20060101
G02F001/1335 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 9, 2018 |
CN |
201811173933.5 |
Claims
1. A transparent display device, comprising: a transparent display
panel, comprising: a first substrate and a second substrate
provided opposite to each other; a polymer liquid crystal mixed
layer, located between the first substrate and the second
substrate; and at least one full color light source, located at a
side of the first substrate distal to the second substrate, an
orthographic projection of the at least one full color light source
on a plane where the first substrate is located is outside the
first substrate, and the at least one full color light source is
configured to emit light of at least two colors toward the
transparent display panel in a time division manner.
2. The transparent display device according to claim 1, wherein a
normal line of a light exiting surface of the at least one full
color light source is directed toward a center line of the
transparent display panel, and the center line of the transparent
display panel is parallel to a direction in which the at least one
full color light source is arranged along a side of the transparent
display panel.
3. The transparent display device according to claim 1, wherein the
at least one full color light source is a LED line light source,
and an orthographic projection of the LED line light source on the
plane where the first substrate is located is outside an outermost
side edge of the first substrate.
4. The transparent display device according to claim 3, wherein the
at least one full color light source comprises two LED line light
sources provided opposite to each other, an orthographic projection
of one of the LED line light sources on the plane where the first
substrate is located is outside one outermost side edge of the
first substrate, and an orthographic projection of the other of the
LED line light sources on the plane where the first substrate is
located is outside an outermost side edge opposite to the one
outermost side edge.
5. The transparent display device according to claim 4, further
comprising a drive control circuit, which is connected to the at
least one full color light source and the transparent display
panel, and is configured to control a refresh frequency of the at
least one full color LED light source to be equal to a frequency of
a drive voltage data signal of the transparent display panel.
6. The transparent display device according to claim 5, further
comprising at least one shading member provided correspondingly to
the at least one full color light source, wherein the at least one
shading member is disposed at a side of the transparent display
panel proximal to the respective one of the at least one full color
light source, and an orthographic projection of the at least one
full color light source on the plane where the first substrate is
located is within an orthographic projection of the at least one
shading member on this plane, respectively.
7. The transparent display device according to claim 6, wherein
each of the at least one full color light source comprises a
plurality of LED light sources of different colors, or an LED light
source emitting light of a plurality of different colors.
8. The transparent display device according to claim 7, wherein the
polymer liquid crystal mixed layer comprises polymer stabilized
liquid crystal or polymer dispersed liquid crystal, and a response
time of the polymer stabilized liquid crystal or the polymer
dispersed liquid crystal is smaller than a light emitting time of
each color in each frame in a field sequential display mode.
9. A container, comprising a storage space for accommodating an
object, wherein the container further comprises the transparent
display device according to claim 1, a back surface of the
transparent display panel of the transparent display device is
proximal to the storage space, and the at least one full color
light source is located inside the container.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the priority of Chinese
Patent Application No. 201811173933.5, filed on Oct. 9, 2018,
titled "TRANSPARENT DISPLAY DEVICE AND CONTAINER", the contents of
which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of display
technology, and in particular, relates to a transparent display
device and a container.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Transparent display panels have begun to enter public sight.
When applying a pixel voltage to pixels in the transparent display
panel, the transparent display panel can display information, and a
user can see an actual scene on the back through the transparent
display panel; and when the pixel voltage is not applied to the
pixels, the transparent display panel is just like a piece of
completely transparent glass, the user can see the actual scene on
the back through the transparent display panel.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there
is provided a transparent display device, which includes:
[0005] a transparent display panel, including:
[0006] a first substrate and a second substrate provided opposite
to each other;
[0007] a polymer liquid crystal mixed layer, located between the
first substrate and the second substrate; and
[0008] at least one full color light source, located at a side of
the first substrate distal to the second substrate, an orthographic
projection of the at least one full color light source on a plane
where the first substrate is located is outside the first
substrate, and the at least one full color light source is
configured to emit light of at least two colors toward the
transparent display panel in a time division manner.
[0009] In some embodiments, a normal line of a light exiting
surface of the at least one full color light source is directed
toward a center line of the transparent display panel, and the
center line of the transparent display panel is parallel to a
direction in which the at least one full color light source is
arranged along a side of the transparent display panel.
[0010] In some embodiments, the at least one full color light
source is a LED line light source, and an orthographic projection
of the LED line light source on the plane where the first substrate
is located is outside an outermost side edge of the first
substrate.
[0011] In some embodiments, the at least one full color light
source includes two LED line light sources provided opposite to
each other, an orthographic projection of one of the LED line light
sources on the plane where the first substrate is located is
outside one outermost side edge of the first substrate, and an
orthographic projection of the other of the LED line light sources
on the plane where the first substrate is located is outside an
outermost side edge opposite to the one outermost side edge.
[0012] In some embodiments, the transparent display device further
includes a drive control circuit, which is connected to the at
least one full color light source and the transparent display
panel, and is configured to control a refresh frequency of the at
least one full color LED light source to be equal to a frequency of
a drive voltage data signal of the transparent display panel.
[0013] In some embodiments, the transparent display device further
includes at least one shading member provided correspondingly to
the at least one full color light source, wherein the at least one
shading member is disposed at a side of the transparent display
panel proximal to the respective one of the at least one full color
light source, and an orthographic projection of the at least one
full color light source on the plane where the first substrate is
located is within an orthographic projection of the at least one
shading member on this plane, respectively.
[0014] In some embodiments, each of the at least one full color
light source includes a plurality of LED light sources of different
colors, or an LED light source emitting light of a plurality of
different colors.
[0015] In some embodiments, the polymer liquid crystal mixed layer
includes polymer stabilized liquid crystal or polymer dispersed
liquid crystal, and a response time of the polymer stabilized
liquid crystal or the polymer dispersed liquid crystal is smaller
than a light emitting time of each color in each frame in a field
sequential display mode.
[0016] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure,
there is provided a container, which includes a storage space for
accommodating an object, wherein the container further includes the
transparent display device according to any one of the foregoing
embodiments of the present disclosure, a back surface of the
transparent display panel of the transparent display device is
proximal to the storage space, and the at least one full color
light source is located inside the container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1(a) is a side view of a transparent display device
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0018] FIG. 1(b) is a schematic diagram of a structure of a
transparent display device according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 2(a) is a side view of another transparent display
device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0020] FIG. 2(b) is a schematic diagram of a structure of another
transparent display device according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a structure of yet another
transparent display device according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a main view of a container according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0023] FIG. 5 is a side view of the container shown in FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] In order to allow one of ordinary skill in the art to better
understand technical solutions of the present disclosure, the
present disclosure is described in further detail below in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific
implementations.
[0025] In the related art, a transparent display device includes a
transparent display panel based on polymer stabilized liquid
crystal (PSLC) or polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), and a
light source is located at and emits light into a side of the
transparent display panel This transparent display panel also
serves as a light guide plate, and the light is continuously
reflected on inner surfaces of the transparent display panel.
However, as the light constantly attenuates, display screen in the
transparent display panel close to the light source region has a
much higher brightness than the display screen far away from the
light source region, and uniformity of display is poor. Meanwhile,
since a metal wire constructing a TFT in the display panel has a
certain slope angle due to a manufacturing process, incident light
irradiates on the slope angle and is reflected outward
significantly, resulting in high brightness of the non-display
region, and a low display contrast ratio.
[0026] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the
present disclosure provides a transparent display device, and the
transparent display device provided by the present disclosure is
described below referring to FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the transparent display
device includes a transparent display panel 1 and a light source 2
for providing backlight to the transparent display panel 1. The
transparent display panel 1 includes a first substrate 101 and a
second substrate 102 provided opposite to each other, and a polymer
liquid crystal mixed layer 103 between the first substrate 1 and
the second substrate 2. The first substrate 101 and the second
substrate 102 do not include a polarizer and a color filter, the
polymer liquid crystal mixed layer 103 is formed of a material of
polymer stabilized liquid crystal or polymer dispersed liquid
crystal. Along the direction of light emission, the transparent
display panel 1 includes a display surface and a back surface
opposite to each other, and has a transparent display region 11 (as
shown in FIG. 3). The light source 2 is located at the back surface
side (e.g., the left side in FIG. 1(a)) of the transparent display
panel 1, at oblique upper rear and oblique lower rear of the
transparent display panel 1 (i.e., the two black rectangular blocks
on the left side of FIG. 1(a) denote the light source 2),
respectively, and is spaced apart from the transparent display
panel 1. An orthographic projection of the light source 2 on a
plane on which the transparent display panel 1 is located is
outside of the transparent display region 11. The light source 2 is
configured to emit light towards the back surface of the
transparent display region 11 of the transparent display panel 1.
LED lamps 2 disposed at the oblique upper rear and the oblique
lower rear of the transparent display panel are employed as a light
source emitting the light, and an optical lens structure of the
light source is configured to achieve a bright region, which is
casted on the transparent display panel, has a uniform brightness,
and has the same shape and size as those of the transparent display
region. Thus, compared to a transparent display of side-light-input
type, brightness uniformity of the transparent display panel can be
increased greatly.
[0028] In some embodiments, the light source may be disposed at
multiple angles and positions such as upper rear, lower rear, side
rear and so on. Referring to FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the light source
2 is located at oblique upper rear and underside of the transparent
display panel 1 (e.g., the two black rectangular blocks at oblique
upper left and the underside shown in FIG. 2(a) denote the light
source 2), respectively. The light source located at the oblique
upper rear of the transparent display panel 1 has a normal line
directed toward a horizontal center line of the transparent display
panel 1 (e.g., the horizontal center line of the transparent
display panel 1 as shown in FIGS. 1(b) and 2(b)), to improve
brightness uniformity of the transparent display panel.
[0029] The transparent display device further includes a shading
member 4 disposed at an edge of the back surface of the transparent
display panel 1, and an orthographic projection of a light exiting
surface 21 (as shown in FIG. 3) of the light source 2 on the plane
where the back surface of the transparent display panel 1 is
located is within an orthographic projection of the shading member
4 on this plane. The shading member 4 blocks the light source 2, so
that a user cannot directly see the light exiting surface 21 of the
light source 2 at a normal viewing position, that is, from the
front side (e.g., the right side in FIG. 2(a)) of the transparent
display device.
[0030] The liquid crystal material in the transparent display panel
1 is a liquid crystal/polymer mixture (i.e., a mixture of liquid
crystal and a polymer) or polymer network liquid crystal. The
liquid crystal/polymer mixture may be polymer stabilized liquid
crystal or polymer dispersed liquid crystal.
[0031] The polymer stabilized liquid crystal PSLC and the polymer
dispersed liquid crystal PDLC are both a mixture of liquid crystal
and a polymer. The difference between the two lies in that: a mass
proportion of the polymer in the polymer stabilized liquid crystal
is generally lower than 10%, and when a pixel voltage is not
applied to subpixels in the polymer stabilized liquid crystal
panel, the light transmittance is high, so a user can see more
clearly an object at the back of the polymer stabilized liquid
crystal panel; a mass proportion of the polymer in the polymer
dispersed liquid crystal is generally higher than 30%, and when a
pixel voltage is applied to subpixels in the polymer dispersed
liquid crystal panel, the light transmittance is high, so a user
can see more clearly an object at the back of the polymer dispersed
liquid crystal panel.
[0032] In the present embodiment, the transparent display device
further includes a drive control circuit 5, which is connected
respectively to the light source 2 and the transparent display
panel 1, and is used to control a refresh frequency of the light
source to be equal to a frequency of a drive voltage data signal of
the transparent display panel, that is, to be equal to a screen
refresh frequency of the transparent display panel 1. Specifically,
the light source 2 includes a full color light source, and provides
backlight to the transparent display panel 1 according to a field
sequential display mode, that is, only provides backlight of one
color to the transparent display panel 1 at each one moment. At
each moment, the transparent display panel 1 displays only one
color. The known PSLC technology generally employs the field
sequential color mode which changes the color of the backlight
source at a high speed to achieve color display. It is to be noted
that, a response time of the liquid crystal/polymer mixed
components must be shorter than a light emitting time of each color
in each frame in the field sequential color mode. For example,
calculating for a normal display refresh frequency of 60 Hz, the
refresh frequency required for field sequential display using three
colors RGB is 180 Hz, then a display time of each color is
1000/180=5.56 ms, which requires that, when selecting a liquid
crystal/polymer mixed system used in the PLSC technology, a
condition of response time smaller than 5.56 ms must be
satisfied.
[0033] In some embodiments, the full color light source includes a
plurality of LED light sources of different colors, and the LED
light sources of different colors emit light sequentially.
Alternatively, the full color light source includes a LED light
source which can emit light of a plurality of different colors,
that is, respective LED light sources have a capability of emitting
light of different colors, but at a same moment, all the LED light
sources only emit light of one color.
[0034] In some embodiments, the light source may be any type of
projection light source, such as a high pressure gas discharge
light source, a LED light source or a laser light source.
[0035] In the present embodiment, the light source 2 is a line
light source, and an orthographic projection of the line light
source on the plane where the back surface of the transparent
display panel 1 is located is outside one edge of the back surface
of the transparent display region 11. The light source 2 being the
line light source 2 is advantageous to consistency of light in one
dimension, and advantageous to improving uniformity of display. The
line light source 2 is, for example, a light bar including a row of
LED lamps (that is, it is a line light source consisting of
multiple point light sources). In some embodiments, the line light
source 2 is only provided at side rear of one side surface of the
transparent display panel 1. That is, only one light bar may be
provided at upper side rear of the transparent display panel 1.
[0036] In the present embodiment, the light source 2 includes two
line light sources 2, wherein an orthographic projection of one
line light source 2 on the plane where the back surface of the
transparent display panel 1 is located is outside one edge of the
back surface of the transparent display region 11, and an
orthographic projection of the other line light source 2 on the
plane is located outside an opposite edge of that edge.
[0037] In some embodiments, the light source 2 is located at left
side rear and right side rear of the transparent display panel 1,
respectively. Since light is symmetrical in one dimension of the
transparent display panel 1, it is possible to further enhance
uniformity of display.
[0038] In some embodiments, each of the line light sources 2 is
parallel to the corresponding edge of the transparent display
region 11, this configuration is also for improving uniformity of
display.
[0039] As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), in some embodiments, a
distance between each line source 2 and the back surface of the
transparent display panel 1 may be about 10 mm. Each line source 2
may have a length of about 170 mm and a width of about 1 mm. The
length of each of the line light sources 2 may be equal to a length
of the transparent display panel 1. A width of the transparent
display panel 1 may be about 110 mm. A distance between the line
light source 2 located at the oblique upper rear of the transparent
display panel 1 and the top of the transparent display panel 1 may
be about 10 mm. These configurations may further improve uniformity
of display.
[0040] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 3, the light source 2
is located at a light exiting surface side of the transparent
display panel 1.
[0041] The transparent display device of the present disclosure
employs LED lamps disposed at oblique rear (which may be multiple
angles and positions such as oblique upper rear, oblique lower
rear, oblique side rear, or the like) of the transparent display
panel as a casting light source, which can enable the transparent
display panel to have advantages of a high transmittance, a high
uniformity of brightness, a high resolution, and an unlimited
display size.
[0042] It is to be noted that, an angle between the normal line of
the light exiting surface 21 of the light source 2 and a normal
line of the transparent display panel 1 may be designed flexibly.
An optimal angle may be found by using an optical simulation
software, so that displaying of the transparent display panel 1
satisfies uniformity requirement.
[0043] The transparent display device of the present embodiment may
be used in an on-vehicle navigator. The transparent display panel
of the on-vehicle navigator may be placed between a steering wheel
and a front windshield, the light source of the on-vehicle
navigator may be placed at an edge position of the windshield. A
driver can see both the navigation screen displayed on the
on-vehicle navigator and the traffic situation in front of the
vehicle through the navigation screen.
[0044] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the
present embodiment provides a container, having a storage space for
accommodating an object 3, the container further includes the
transparent display device according to the present disclosure, and
the back surface of the transparent display panel 1 of the
transparent display device proximal to the storage space, such that
the storage space is visible from outside of the container through
the transparent display panel 1, and the light source is disposed
inside the container.
[0045] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a display surface is a surface
for displaying a screen to a user and is proximal to the user, for
example, a surface on the right side of the transparent display
panel 1 in FIG. 5 is the display surface. A surface of the
transparent display panel 1 opposite to the display surface is a
back surface, for example, a surface of the transparent display
panel 1 proximal to the object 3 in FIG. 5 is the back surface.
[0046] A transparent display region 11 is a region which is
transparent and capable of displaying a screen, and in engineering
is also referred to as an active area (AA region). A pixel
structure is provided in the transparent display region 11 of the
transparent display panel 1, as is known by one of ordinary skill
in the art.
[0047] A light source 2 is located at a back surface side of the
transparent display panel 1, and provides backlight to the
transparent display panel 1 from the back surface of the
transparent display panel 1. An orthographic projection of the
light source 2 on the plane where the back surface of the
transparent display panel 1 is located is outside the back surface
of the transparent display region 11. That is, the light source 2
is located at side rear (such as upper side rear, left side rear,
lower side rear, and/or right side rear) of the transparent display
region 11. A normal line of a light exiting surface of the light
source 2 is directed toward a center line of the transparent
display region 11 (e.g., a center line perpendicular to the plan
view of the transparent display area 11 shown in FIG. 5), the
center line of the transparent display region 11 is parallel to a
direction in which the light source 2 is arranged along a side of
the transparent display panel 1. As such, light emitted towards the
back surface of the transparent display panel 1 is emitted into the
transparent display panel 1 at a certain inclination angle with
respect to the back surface of the transparent display panel 1.
Compared to a display method in which light is incident from one
side surface of the transparent display panel 1 (i.e., light
propagates by total internal reflection inside the transparent
display panel 1), in the present disclosure, there is no loss of
light before it illuminates pixels of the display region of the
transparent display panel 1, thus uniformity of display is
maximally increased.
[0048] Meanwhile, since the light source 2 is located at side rear,
instead of direct rear (or middle rear), of the transparent display
region 11, the light source 2 is not seen behind the transparent
display region 11 when directly viewed from outside. That is, the
light source 2 does not affect the "transparency" of the
transparent display region 11.
[0049] The transparent display device may be used to display, for
example, information such as a status of the object 3 in the
container. The light source therein provides backlight to the
transparent display panel 1 while also providing illumination to
the object inside the storage space, thereby providing the user
with better experience. The transparent display panel 1 is, for
example, disposed in an opening of a sidewall of the container.
[0050] Optionally, the container is any one of a refrigerator, a
show window, a vending machine, and the like.
[0051] It should be understood that, the above embodiments are only
exemplary embodiments for the purpose of explaining the principle
of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not
limited thereto. For one of ordinary skill in the art, various
improvements and modifications may be made without departing from
the spirit and essence of the present disclosure. These
improvements and modifications also fall within the protection
scope of the present disclosure.
* * * * *